Atlanta medical professionals see spike in children with cases of scoliosis
Health officials suspect that a lack of school screenings due to virtual learning at home may be to blame. Children are experiencing back pain or "tech neck
By ADAM MURPHY
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ATLANTA (WGCL) — There is cause for concern at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Medical professionals have seen a spike in children with cases of scoliosis.
“We see patients coming in with larger curves where we would have hoped to catch them earlier. We also see more patients coming in with back pain and poor posture as a result of inactivity from the pandemic,” Children’s Certified Prosthetists Orthotists Leigh Davis said.
Health officials suspect that a lack of school screenings due to virtual learning at home may be to blame. Children are experiencing back pain or “tech neck,” which often goes undetected.
“What that looks like is typically the pediatrician or the school nurse is going to ask the patient to put their hands together, bend forward toward their knees and look at them from behind. From behind with someone who has scoliosis you can see a prominence in some section of the spine and usually we see that up where the ribs are,” Davis said.
Statistics show that about two to three percent of children have scoliosis. Khara Seely was one of those individuals.
“My shoulders were to the side, and I was even leaning forward so my left shoulder was beginning to rotate and I was like I don’t know what this is,” Seeley said.
Early detection is key to avoiding surgery. Warning signs include uneven shoulders, uneven hips, or ribs sticking out in one area
“I understand the concern with going into the physical doctor’s office or hospital feeling the risk of possibly getting COVID, but you want the proper diagnosis and the longer that you take to get that the worse it could become over time,” Seeley said.
“If someone has back pain, kids should not be in pain, if they’re experiencing back pain more than a couple times a week you need to go see the pediatrician,” Davis said.
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